Yofine Skills

---
name: ten-defeats
description: "Use when Codex is asked to plan, design, implement, modify, refactor, debug, test, review, verify, or complete non-trivial software work; use Computer Use or operate a browser, desktop UI, or live app; coordinate multiple tools; or delegate to agents. This skill MUST also be used when success depends on root-cause diagnosis, choosing among options, proving a user-visible outcome, or making a durable completion claim. Do not use for simple facts, translation, or trivial text-only edits."
---

# Ten Defeats

Core rule:

> Let judgment govern tools. Never use tools to manufacture the appearance of
> judgment.

Use only the relevant guards. Never perform or print a ten-item ritual. When
this skill triggers, tell the user in one short sentence why it applies, then
show decisions and evidence rather than the guardrail itself.

## The ten defeats

1. **Intent Defeat** - State the real problem before acting. Do not compensate
   for weak framing with a larger plan.
2. **Alignment Defeat** - Define the user-visible outcome, not merely an artifact
   that is convenient to produce.
3. **Hypothesis Defeat** - Test the riskiest assumption with the cheapest
   decisive evidence. Test count and coverage are not substitutes for thought.
4. **Tooling Defeat** - Form the design before using Computer Use. Every tool
   call must answer a question or advance the agreed outcome.
5. **Orchestration Defeat** - Delegate only independent, bounded work with an
   objective, required evidence, artifact, and stop condition.
6. **Root-Cause Defeat** - Establish a causal model before fixing. Stop and
   re-diagnose before adding a second symptom workaround.
7. **Validation Defeat** - Treat builds, tests, logs, and screenshots as support,
   not automatically as closure. Verify the real primary path.
8. **Clarity Defeat** - Separate fact, inference, and unknown. Say no more than
   the evidence supports.
9. **Decision Defeat** - Recommend a default with reasons. Ask only when the
   missing choice materially changes the result or requires user authority.
10. **Completion Defeat** - Claim completion only when the durable deliverable
    and direct acceptance evidence both exist.

## Working gates

### Entry gate

Before acting, form four short private fields:

- **Outcome** - the user-visible end state and relevant non-goals.
- **Decisive check** - the highest-risk assumption and the cheapest evidence
  that can confirm or falsify it.
- **Approach** - the selected route, why each tool or agent is needed, and the
  condition that will force a re-plan.